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Prison Break
Prison Break is an FOX serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring, starring Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Robin Tunney, Peter Stormare, Marshall Allman, Wade Williams, Paul Adelstein and Rockmond Dunbar. The show aired on FOX from August 29, 2005 to May 15, 2009, lasting for 4 seasons & 81 episodes. In January of 2016, it was announced that a nine-episode event series of the show will be scheduled to air in April 2017. Plot "Prison Break" revolves around two brothers; one brother has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit and the other brother devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison and clear his name. Cast *Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield *Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows *Sarah Wayne Callies as Dr. Sara Tancredi *Amaury Nolasco as Fernando Sucre *Robert Knepper as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell *Paul Adelstein as Paul Kellerman *Rockmond Dunbar as Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin *Wade Williams as Officer Brad Bellick 1-3 *Marshall Allman as LJ Burrows 1-3 *William Fichtner as Alex Mahone 2-4 *Leon Russom as General Jonathan Krantz 2-4 *Stacy Keach as Warden Henry Pope 1-2 *Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Gretchen Morgan / Susan B. Anthony 3-4 *Robin Tunney as Veronica Donovan 1 *Peter Stormare as John Abruzzi 1 *Phillip Edward Van Lear as Louis Patterson 1 *Chris Vance as James Whistler 3 *Michael Rapaport as Don Self 4 Ratings "Prison Break" debuted on August 29, 2005 to an estimated audience of 10.5 million viewers. Fox had not seen such success for summertime Monday numbers since "Melrose Place" and "Ally McBeal" aired in September 1998. The premiere was ranked first in both the 18–49 and 18–34 demographics. The strong debut performance was also matched by various positive reviews. According to The New York Times, Prison Break was "more intriguing than most of the new network series, and it certainly is one of the most original", complimenting its ability to create a "suspenseful thriller" and its "authentic look". Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly dubbed it as one of the best new shows of 2005. On the other hand, The Washington Post criticized the show for its "somber pretentiousness" and "uniformly overwrought" performances. Due to its ratings success, Fox decided to extend the show by an extra nine episodes, making it the first new series in the 2005–2006 television season to receive a full season order of 22 episodes. The series averaged 9.2 million viewers per week in its first season. The premiere of the second season of "Prison Break" obtained an average of 9.4 million viewers. The decline was steeper among young-adult viewers with a decrease of 20% in the 18–49 demographic compared to its series premiere, but its household rating grew from 3.6% to 3.9% during the last half-hour. Robert Bianco of USA Today commented on the "harebrained absurdities that have swamped this show" and blamed the writers for being "incredibly lazy" for the continuous use of the tattoo as an "all-purpose plot fix". In contrast, Detroit Free Press commended the second-season premiere on matching the standard set by the first season which delivered "rocking good entertainment" due to its "motley crew of cellblock characters" and the "taut, ingenious storytelling of series creator Paul T. Scheuring and his staff." The show's second season obtained its largest audience on the original airdate of the episode, "Chicago" with an average of 10.1 million viewers. Overall, the second season averaged 9.3 million viewers per week. The third and particularly fourth season of "Prison Break" received progressively more negative reviews, as the show's plot diverged from its origin story of breaking out of prison, and focused more on conventional elements of a government conspiracy drama series. Accolades Following a successful airing of the series' first thirteen episodes, "Prison Break" was nominated for its first award, the 2005 People's Choice Award for "Favorite New TV Drama." The series won the award in January 2006, beating other nominees in the same category, "Commander in Chief" and "Criminal Minds". In January 2006, the show had two nominations at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards which were "Best Drama Television Series" and "Best Actor in a Drama Television Series" for Wentworth Miller's performance. The show's lead actor, Wentworth Miller, received another nomination for his performance in the first season at the 2005 Saturn Awards for "Best Actor on Television". Likewise, the series was nominated for 2005 Saturn Award for "Best Network Television Series". At the 2006 Television Critics Association Awards, the show was nominated for "Best New Drama Series". Nominations for technical awards include the 2006 Eddie Award for "Best Edited One-Hour Series" for "Commercial Television" (Mark Helfrich for the pilot episode), and the 2006 Primetime Emmy award for "Outstanding Main Title Theme Music" (Ramin Djawadi). In December 2006, Robert Knepper was nominated for the 2006 Satellite Award for "Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series" or "Motion Picture Made for Television." Category:FOX Shows Category:2000s television shows Category:Drama